Crop drier and unloader



Oct. 14, 1952 A. A. ANDERSEN ET AL l 2,613,452

. CROP DRIER AND UNLOADER Filed oct. 27,4 1949 Patented Oct. 14, 1952UNITED STATES PATENT oEFIcE CROP DRIER AND UNLOADER Arthur A. Andersen,Crystal Lake, and Bernard C. Mathews, Chicago, Ill., assignors toAmerican Crop-Drying Equipment Company, Crystal Lake,`Ill., acorporation of Illinois Application October 27, 1949, Serial No. 123,894

4 Claims. l

Our invention relates to crop drying equipment of thecharacter-described in our copending application Serial No. 716,218, ledDecember 14, A194:6 now Patent No. 2,532,530, and has more particularreferenceto a wagon having a slidable duct installation for` drying offarm crops in the wagonV and for convenient unloading of the crops.

It has been found that the nutrients incertain farm crops suchas hay,alfalfa, corn, wheat, oats, barley, and the like can best be preservedduring storage when they are dehydrated quickly. For example, freshlycut hay should not be permitted to cure in the eld for more than threeto five hours. It should then be dehydrated rapidly to about fifteen percent moisture content which is considered to be desirable for storagepurposes. In order to retain maximum food value, the removal of excessmoisture content should be accomplished `rapidly under controlled dryingconditions.

The principal objects of our invention are to provide crop drying andunloading facilities which may be installed readily in ordinary farmwagons; to design such facilities which will insure uniform dehydrationof substantial crop loads; to permit drying of such crops in theconveyance in which they are loaded in the field; and to enableconvenient unloading of such crops after dehydration, these and otherobjects being accomplished as hereinafter described, reference being hadto the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a top View showing the floor plan of a crop drying wagonembodying our invention and showing the reciprocable drying ductpartially extended;

Fig. 2is a vertical sectional View on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawing, the reference numeral IB indicates therunning gear of the wagon on which our crop dryer and unloader isinstalled, the latter comprising a box like compartment, open at the topand having a floor II, a front wall I2, a tail gate I3 and two sidewalls I4.

The floor II and front wall I2 are of any conventional plank or panelconstruction and are substantially closed to air circulationtherethrough, except that the front wall I2 is provided with a large airinlet opening I5 therethrough adjoining the floor II and centeredbetween the side walls I 4,. The said air opening or inlet l5 has aperipheral attaching fiange IG therearound which projects forwardly fromthe front wall I2 and is adapted to be engaged by a flexible hot airduct Ii which is connected to a suitable hot air source such, forexample, as the portable drier shown in our application Serial No.71,834, filed January 21, 1949, now Patent No. 2,604,312. l

The side walls lll of the wagon I@ are freely penetrable by air and maybe `made of heavy gauge wire screen I3 nailed or stapled to the innersides of uprights I9 which extend upwardly from the floor i I along eachside thereof and at their upper and lower ends to connecting strips 2liand 2| respectively. Where a wagon is used which has solid side walls,such as a silage wagon, the uprights i9 may be mounted on the innersides of such walls andhavethe wire screen ,I8 secured to the innersides of these uprights, or that the uprights I9 serve as spacersproviding an air space between thesolid sides and the screen wall I8. v.y i

The mesh of the wire screen I8 should depend upon the material to bedehydrated. A larger mesh will sufiice where chopped hay, alfalfa, orthe like is to be processed, whereas a finer mesh would be required tocontain the smaller grains and to prevent loss through the sidewalls I4.

Preferably` the side walls I4 extend about one foot higher than thefront wall I2, thus forming barriers at each side of the front wall I2sothat when a harvester spout is resting thereon, it will not slide offat .either side.

Our crop dryer and unloader comprises a tunnel member 22 havingperforated top and side walls and a solid bottom 23, and is closed atthe rear end as indicated at 24 and open at the front end. The saidtunnel member 22 is installed lengthwise in the wagon Ii with its openend in alignment with and filled to the air inlet i5 in the front wallI2 sothat air entering the opening I5 is communicated to the interior ofthe tunnel or duct 22. The said tunnel member 22 is preferably of sheetsteel construction with a frame of either steel or wood. In ourpreferred construction, the perforations in the top and side walls ofthetunnel member are` diamond shaped openings as indicated in Figs. l and 2and about 1% inch by 11/2 inches in size, which is especially suitablefor drying hay. Where the smaller grains are to be dried, the top andside walls of the tunnel member 22 are covered with rela tively ne vmeshwire screen.

The tunnel member 22 should be of the same length as the inside lengthof the Vwagon so'that when the open front end of the tunnel member abutsagainst the front wall I2 of the wagon, the tail gate I3 may be closedagainst the closed end 24 of the tunnel member 22. The tail gate I3 maybe hinged at the top rear of the wagon I in any suitable manner so thatit may be swung open as shown in Fig. 2 to afford unobstructed access tothe interior of the wagon and to the tunnel member 22 or closed to formthe rear wall of the drying compartment.

The width and height of the tunnel member 22 will depend upon theinterior dimensions of the compartment in which it is installed, so thatthe thickness of the crop load to be dried at the top and sides of thetunnel member will not exceed that which may be dried efficiently. Whenhay is to be dried the thickness of the mass of hay between the tunnel22 and the side walls Id should be about 22 inches and should not exceed26 inches. Thus, for drying hay in a wagon where the inside width isfrom '72 to 80 inches, we use a tunnel about 28 inches wide. The tunnelmember 22 should be about 42 inches high and the hay should be loadedinto the wagon to a depth of about 22 to 26 inches over the top of thetunnel member 22. When smaller grains are to be dried, the thickness ofthe load measured outwardly from the tunnel member 22 should be about 16inches, and the dimensions of the drying enclosure and the tunnel membershould be determined accordingly.

At its front open end the tunnel member 22 is provided with a transversebar 26 at the bottom which may be of angle iron or the like and to theouter ends of which cables 27 are attached, These cables 21 areconnected to and wind on a transverse shaft 28 which is journaled at 29to rotate at the rear end of the floor II. As the shaft 28 is turned, ittends to wind up the cables 21 and pulls the tunnel member 22 outwardlyover the shaft 28. The shaft 28 is mounted so the top thereof issufficiently above the wagon floor II so that it provides roller supportfor the tunnel member 22 when the latter is being withdrawn from insidethe wagon. The shaft 28 may be rotated by any suitable means such as acrank or by means of a motor 30 as shown in Fig. 3. The motor 30operates through a reduction gear 3l to reduce the speed of rotation andthe latter has a detachable connection with the shaft 28. The shaft ofthe reduction gear 3| may be squared at the end for this purpose andengageable in a square socket 32 of corresponding shape at the end ofthe shaft 28. With this type of connection, the motor may bedisconnected quite readily from the shaft 28 so that it may be usedelsewhere for other purposes.

When a wagon is equipped with our crop drier and unloader, as described,the crop may be loaded directly into the wagon in the field. The tunnelmember 22 should be inserted in position with the forward end fittedclosely to the air inlet I5, and the tail gate I3 should be closedsecurely. The crop may be loaded into the wagon as it would be loadedinto any conveyance, such as through the spout of a harvester. The wagonmay then be hauled to any convenient location for drying at which placeforced hot air may be supplied to the air inlet I by means of a hot airduct I'I from a portable drier such as mentioned above.

The hot air is forced under pressure into the tunnel member 22 and isuniformly distributed therefrom through the perforated top and sidewallsoi the tunnel member 22 to the crop load. The hot air removesmoisture from the crop as it passes through the mass and is exhaustedthrough the open sides and the top of the wagon.

The forcing of hot air through the crop is continued until the moisturecontent is reduced to the proper level, usually about fifteen per cent.The moisture content may of course be determined by testing samples ofthe crop in a suitable moisture tester.

When the proper moisture content is reached, the tail gate I3 is openedso as to permit removal of the dried crop. The crop is unloaded bymoving the tunnel member 22 outwardly and permitting the hay or grain todrop off. The dropping off may be expedited by means of pitch forks ifdesired. As a result of the drying operation, the hay or grain tends tocling in a body to the tunnel member 22 and hence it moves outwardlytherewith from the wagon.

The hay or grain as it is unloaded may be deposited on a continuous beltconveyor 33 as shown in Fig. 2 and conveyed thereby to the place ofstorage, or it may be collected and removed for storage in any othermanner.

We have shown and described our invention in a preferred form as appliedto a conventional farm wagon but we are. of course, aware that changescan be made therein without departing from the spirit of our invention,the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a crop dryer of the class described, the combination of a box-likedrying enclosure having air penetrable side walls and solid end wallsand a floor at the bottom, a hot air duct having perforated top andsidewalls of substantially the same length as the drying enclosure, oneof the end walls of said drying enclosure having an opening adapted tocommunicate With the hot air duct, and the other end wall beingretractable to permit outward movement of the duct with respect to theenclosure, and a roller rotatably mounted at the rear end of the floorof the drying ,enclosure in a position t0 support the duct in itsoutward movement.

2. In a crop dryer of the class described, the combination of a box-likedrying enclosure having air penetrable side walls and solid end wallsand a floor at the bottom, a hot air duct having perforated top and sidewalls of substantially the saine length as the drying enclosure, one ofthe end Walls of said drying enclosure having an opening adapted tocommunicate with the hot air duct, and the other end Wall beingretractable to permit outward movement of the duct with respect to theenclosure, pulling means at the rear end of the iioor, and a transversemember at the inner end of the hot air duct and connected with thepulling means for moving the duct outwardly.

3. In a crop dryer of the class described, the combination of a box-likedrying enclosure having air penetrable side walls and solid end wallsand a floor at the bottom, a hot air duct having perforated top and sidewalls of substantially the same length as the drying enclosure, one ofthe end Walls of said drying enclosure having an opening adapted tocommunicate with the hot air duct, and the other end wall beingretractable to permit outward movement of the duct with respect to theenclosure, a roller rotatably mounted at the rear end of the iioor ofthe drying enclosure in a position to support the duct in its outwardmovement, and a transverse member at the inner end of the hot air ductand operably connected to the said roller.

4. A wagon box attachment of the class described comprising thecombination of an elon- 2,813,452 5 6 gated duct constructed andarranged to be in- REFERENCES CITED serted endfvs in a Wagon boul acorresponding The following references are of record in the lateralproJection at each sideiof the duct at one me of this patent: endthereof and by which that end of the duct is maintainable in a relationspaced from and 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS substantially centrally betweenr`the opposite sides Number Name Date of the wagon box as it is insertedtherein, a roller 120,109 Sampson Oct. 17, 1871 adapted to be secured tothe'rear end of and 838,248 Fulton Dec. 1l, 1906 parallel with the floorof the wagon box, and 1,315,530 Secord Sept. 9, 1919 a pulling member ateach side of the duct and 1o 2,126,107 Gordon Aug. 9, 1938 extendingbetween and connecting the lateral projection at the respective side o!the duct with FOREIGN PATENTS the roller, said duct having an openingthrough Number Clmtry Dalle which air is suppliable to the interiorthereof 245.971 Great Britain Jan. 21, 1923 and said duct havingperforated sides through 15 which air is distributively discharged fromthe interior of the duct. ARTHUR A. ANDERSEN.

BERNARD C. MATHEWS.

